McWilliams' Children Give Her Their Support

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

EDMOND, Okla. (July 14, 2010) – U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team player Gina McWilliams from The Colony, Texas, who will turn 35 on Friday while competing at the 2010 Sittng Volleyball World Championships at the University of Central Oklahoma, is the senior member of the women's team and the only one raising children while trying to compete.

While some might consider children a burden for an athlete competing on a world-class athletic team, McWilliams’ children have been a source of strength for her.

This was readily apparent prior to the 2008 Paralympic Games when she became a single mother to her two children, an older daughter named Jamie and a younger son named Jonah.

McWilliams, who served as team captain of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Team at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, helping it to an unexpected bronze medal, told her children that she wouldn’t be able to compete any more since she would have to work more to support the family.

“My son made me pull the car over so he could look me in the eye,” McWilliams remembered. “He said, ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’ I tried to interrupt him but he wouldn’t stop. ‘Some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities take a day, some take a month, some take many months. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’”

McWilliams dried her eyes and went to work. With the support of her children and her community, which helped her raise money so she could take time off to travel to Beijing, she went to the 2008 Paralympic Games and brought home a silver medal. Since then, she has continued to work several part-time jobs that offer her some flexibility so she can commute to the University of Central Oklahoma for training camps and travel with the team internationally.

It is not an easy lifestyle for McWilliams, who lost her right leg and suffered other debilitating injuries in a car accident when she was 25. She has had at least 37 surgeries since the accident.

One of the things McWilliams pushed for when she first joined the Women’s Sitting Team in 2003 was a training regimen for players to follow when they were at their homes away from the coaches.

“The ironic thing is that we have that now and I am one of the people who is too busy to participate,” McWilliams said.

INTERNATIONAL RELATONS

It is interesting to see which teams cheer for which at the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships.

Members of the British Men's Team cheered for the U.S. Women's Sitting Team during its match against Japan. Players from the Netherlands, a great rival of the U.S. Women's Sitting Team, cheered for Canada's Women's Team in its match against the United States.

At a match on Wednesday morning, no one could figure out why the men's team from Rwanda was cheering and singing passionately for the men's team from Germany.

"Maybe Germany bought the beer last night," someone suggested.

UNDER THE GUN

A radar gun at Wednesday’s match between the U.S. Men’s Sitting Team and Canada clocked a Brad Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) hit 39 miles per hour and an Eric Duda (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) spike at 35. 

Serves by the Russian men’s team in the morning were clocked as fast as 46 miles per hour.

POLL QUESTION OF THE DAY

What is one thing you would like people to know about sitting volleyball?

Eric Duda (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.): “It’s the fastest sport I’ve ever played.”

Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C.): “It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

Gina McWilliams (The Colony, Texas): “It’s a lot faster than the standing game and requires a lot more technical skill.”

 

Tags: Gina McWilliams, Sitting Volleyball World Championships, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team